Apple smart display product delayed until Q3 2025: analyst
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is widely believed to be working on a smart home display product that could compete with Amazon’s (AMZN) Echo Show, but TF International Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes it has been delayed once again.
“The mass production schedule for the display-equipped HomePod has been delayed multiple times,” Kuo wrote on his blog. “Initially forecasted for 2024 (as I predicted in 2023), it was postponed to 1Q25, and more recently, further delayed to after WWDC 2025/3Q25.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
The delay is largely due to software development issues, Kuo added. The device could feature Apple’s A18 processor, have a display somewhere around six or seven inches, support Apple Intelligence and be a “strategic repositioning” of the company’s HomePod device, the analyst posited.
“Apple has a history of successfully repositioning existing products,” Kuo explained. “A notable example is the Apple Watch, which transitioned from an iPhone accessory and fashion product to a health management device.”
Initial production of the device is expected to be around 500,000 units, Kuo said.
Kuo also doubled down on the belief that Apple will launch a smart home camera in 2026 that can wirelessly connect to the smart home display product.
“I believe Apple will tightly integrate these two new products with its existing ecosystem and HomeKit to deliver a seamless smart home experience,” he wrote.